Testimony in Support of Senate Bill 478
Education-Reporting Requirement—Class Size
| MSTA testimony, Senate Bill 478, February 28, 2007 |
| Diana Saquella, MSTA Government Relations |
| Cheryl Bost, President, Teachers Association of Baltimore County |
Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee
February 28, 2007 1:00 PM
Cheryl Bost
President, Teachers Association of Baltimore County
On behalf of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, I would like to offer support for Senate Bill 478, which requires the Maryland State Department of Education to collect accurate and consistent class size data from local boards of education and report this information to the Maryland General Assembly.
Currently, the Maryland State Department of Education publishes a pupil–teacher ratio (PTR) that compares the total number of teachers to the total number of students in a county, and provides no information about the range of class sizes. Often when PTR is published it can include specialist teachers, such as the gym, music and art teachers, curriculum specialists, guidance counselors, librarians, media specialists, instructional aides, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and clerical personnel. SB 478 would require data collected to show the actual class size, which is the number of students who regularly appear in a teacher's classroom and for whom that teacher is primarily responsible and accountable.
In 1998, the Maryland General Assembly established the Special Committee to Examine Issues Related to Class Size Reduction. The Committee recommended the Maryland State Department of Education collect data that show the actual number of students in each class in Maryland . This recommendation was never acted on.
In 1999, the Maryland General Assembly established a class size reduction initiative that was funded from 2000 to 2003. In FY 2004, funding was folded into the Bridge to Excellence Act foundation amount. The Bridge to Excellence Act requires local school system master plans to account for efforts to reduce class size. However, a search of the master plans for class size showed that the language is quite vague and, most often, does not reflect if local boards of education are making progress in reducing class size.
We believe there is strong support among the public and a demonstrated effectiveness of smaller classes on student achievement, particularly on closing the achievement gap among minority students; however, until we have accurate data, we will continue to be guessing on whether funding is effectively reducing class size in Maryland schools.
We urge a favorable report by this committee on SB 478.
